GOLDEN, Colorado – Sent moonward over two years ago, NASA\u2019s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment \u2014 shortened to CAPSTONE \u2014 is busy as ever, presently trial-running techniques to enhance spacecraft operations in cislunar space.<\/p>
Launched on June 28, 2022, aboard a Rocket Lab Electron booster from New Zealand, CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized cubesat weighing a modest 25 kilograms, is on task and operational in Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the moon.<\/p>
NRHO is the intended orbit of NASA\u2019s cislunar Gateway space station, which is meant to serve as an outpost for long-term human exploration of the moon and beyond. It will also allow crews to access the lunar south pole \u2014 an early priority zone for the space agency\u2019s Artemis program.<\/p>
It has not been all smooth sailing for CAPSTONE. Early in its mission, a balky thruster sent the probe into rapid tumble mode. It also overcame a propellant freeze, among other glitches. <\/p>
Having overcome those technical problems, the spacecraft is now slated for cislunar space operations for several more months, said Thomas Gardner, chief engineer for Advanced Space of Westminster, Colorado, which owns and will operate CAPSTONE for the entirety of its mission.<\/p>
\u201cAdvanced Space is working with other potential customers within NASA and other government agencies, like the Air Force Research Laboratory, to provide testing opportunities for their experiments,\u201d Gardner told SpaceNews<\/em>. <\/p> These experiments are primarily focused on autonomous Precision Navigation and Timing, said Gardner, and other operations in the cislunar domain including communication relay services as well as the rendezvous, proximity operations and docking of spacecraft. According to NASA, the price tag of the mission is roughly $30 million, which includes a $10 million launch vehicle procurement from Rocket Lab. The spacecraft was built by Terran Orbital (formerly Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems) under a commercial subcontract with Advanced Space.<\/p> CAPSTONE relies on the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPS), a real-time system for estimating absolute position and velocity for spacecraft operating in the cislunar environment. <\/p> The cubesat is outfitted with a JPL-provided, onboard chip scale atomic clock to precisely determine the spacecraft\u2019s coordinates in space and time. Gardner explained that Advanced Space has successfully demonstrated the CAPS autonomous navigation technology using both two-way ranging with NASA\u2019s moon-circling Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and one-way uplink ranging with JPL\u2019s Deep Space Network.<\/p> In addition to testing the CAPS navigation system software, Gardner said there\u2019s an ongoing effort to evaluate a broad suite of software-based capabilities as well, which involves tapping an additional computer onboard CAPSTONE. That computer allows ground controllers to run software without interfering with spacecraft operations.<\/p> \u201cEssentially, it\u2019s the only software test platform in cislunar space,\u201d said Gardner. <\/p> Among the software being tested, Gardner said, is the Neural Networks for Enhanced Planning software, which calculates optimal maneuvers for autonomous station keeping \u2014 keeping an active spacecraft in the same orbit as another vehicle \u2014 and also validates safe and predictable maneuvers for satellites that use electrical or chemical propulsion.<\/p> There\u2019s also a SigmaZero software package that identifies anomalies in a spacecraft\u2019s behavior, determines what is causing the error, and classifies the anomaly data so that operators can make informed course-correcting decisions.<\/p> In addition, a Flight Dynamics System is appraising the ability to provide rapid-turnaround navigation and maneuver planning for deep space and cislunar missions.<\/p> \u201cWe\u2019re testing each software system independently, then as an ensemble to see how the spacecraft responds,\u201d Gardner said. <\/p> The combined capabilities of these three algorithms will be an integrated suite called Autopilot, said Gardner. <\/p> \u201cBy testing maneuver planning, flight board operations and cislunar autonomy,\u201d Gardner added, \u201cwe\u2019ll ultimately end up with a spacecraft that knows where it is, what time it is, how to maneuver correctly and how to validate maneuvers with integrity.\u201d<\/p> Meanwhile, the NASA Gateway team is receiving briefings on the lessons learned about operations in NRHO from Advanced Space.<\/p> Gardner says that there are several key takeaways for small spacecraft operating in deep space. For one, providers need to make certain they understand system requirements well before preliminary design review.<\/p> \u201cCommercial off-the-shelf products often are not developed as advertised,\u201d Gardner advised. \u201cUnderstand clearly how your system will interact with ground systems \u2014 for example, the Deep Space Network. Plugging into them is not as simple as advertised,\u201d he said.<\/p> Another lesson learned is to allow extra time to obtain the appropriate regulatory approvals, Gardner said, that often require far more time and resources than expected. <\/p> Obtaining other approvals can affect spacecraft operations as well, such as getting the go-ahead to use certain radio frequencies, or addressing matters of planetary protection and orbital debris. Then there are range-safety requirements for launch, and export control if a payload is sent spaceward from an overseas provider.\u00a0<\/p> Lastly, \u201cread your telemetry carefully to determine what\u2019s happening based on the data you are receiving,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p> Ultimately, Gardner said, the CAPSTONE and ground support teams are eager to continue making use of the spacecraft to support and showcase various tasks in the unique cislunar environment for the rest of its mission.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NASA’s CAPSTONE spacecraft is testing software for autonomous operations in cislunar orbit to pave the way for Gateway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11021,"featured_media":466319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5680,4152,4161],"tags":[3086,2207,3674,2734],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[47],"class_list":["post-466317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-civil1","category-news-archive","tag-advanced-space","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-capstone","tag-lunar-gateway","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nSoftware test platform<\/h3>
Deep space maneuvering<\/h3>
Lessons from lunar orbit<\/h3>